January 1 of each year is Public Domain Day, when copyrights expire and works enter the public domain. The public domain is essential to furthering copyright’s goals of fostering creativity and access ...

Like a genie released from the bottle, you can almost hear the pop culture of 1930 whooping. "I Got Rhythm." "The Little Engine that Could." "The Maltese Falcon." "Animal Crackers" with the Marx ...

January 1st isn’t just New Years Day; there’s another little holiday wrapped up inside. It’s Public Domain Day: the moment when a year’s worth of literature, music, film, television, pop culture, ...

Luc Haasbroek is a writer and videographer from Durban, South Africa. He has been writing professionally about pop culture for eight years. Luc's areas of interest are broad: he's just as passionate ...

It’s hard to believe that it’s been barely a week since we were singing “Auld Lang Syne” and expressing cautious hope that 2026 might somehow prove better than 2025. (Spoiler: it has not.) Still, for ...

Several Disney cartoons and characters from 1930 have entered the public domain this year. Works in the public domain are no longer protected by copyright and can be freely used and shared. Other ...

In a time when technology has made it easier than ever for anyone to reimagine a piece of music, a book, or a film, and many artists battle to protect their copyrighted work from the algorithmic meat ...

Copyright also expired for the original appearances of cartoon and comic book characters Betty Boop, Blondie, and Dagwood. Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Composition of Circles ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As we start 2026, you may have heard familiar names like Betty Boop, Nancy Drew, and Mickey Mouse's dog Pluto have all entered what's called the public domain. It's all to do ...

Four songs by George and Ira Gershwin, Betty Boop, Nancy Drew, and many more are among the intellectual properties that have officially entered the public domain, as part of Public Domain Day 2026.